UCLA Bruins College Football Betting - CFB Lines

2024 UCLA Bruins College Football Betting

UCLA hired DeShaun Foster as its new head coach, replacing Chip Kelly, who walked out the door for a self-demotion to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State. Kelly left millions of dollars on the table, which spared the deeply in debt UCLA athletic department from having to fire him and pay an $8.5 million buyout. For Kelly, being head coach of UCLA was such a miserable experience that it was no longer worth the money. UCLA’s lack of commitment to football and an NIL program that offers nothing was too much to overcome, especially for a coach who had all such advantages and more when he made his fame at Oregon. As Kelly said, walking out the door, “NIL defeats weather.”

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2024 UCLA Bruins Betting Preview

Foster returned home ten days after taking the running backs coach job for the Las Vegas Raiders. Before taking the Vegas gig, Foster served in that same capacity with UCLA from 2017 through last season.

Foster was hired for his strong UCLA ties, which include his status as an alum and former player. Foster has NFL bona fides as a former player from 2002-2008. At age 44, UCLA believes he brings much-needed vitality, youth, and local connections. Foster will hit the ground running and wowed UCLA players at the first team meeting. While that is great, he faces plenty of institutional gravity.

Jim Mora Jr produced UCLA’s last Top 10 season in 2014, and Kelly led UCLA to its last Top 25 season (21st) in 2022. Since 1989, UCLA finished in the national Top 10 only three times. Success won't be easy or immediate.

It’s firmly a new era for UCLA with the move to the Big Ten and the new man in charge. There’s bound to be plenty of learning on the job for a first-time head coach in a new league, but the Bruins hope to count on an improved offense to keep them afloat amid the transition. A brutal schedule and a suspect defense, however, may limit the team from doing anything beyond reaching a bowl game.

The upcoming season was always going to be a shock to the system at UCLA with the move to the Big Ten. Still, things were complicated further in mid-February when head coach Chip Kelly left to be offensive coordinator at new conference rival Ohio State. The move cost the Bruins their primary play-caller and the coach most responsible for their identity.

A run-first approach is likely to continue as the team transitions into the Big Ten. Still, Foster is hoping the arrival of new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy can bring enough NFL passing concepts to make the team equally proficient through the air. Bieniemy’s primary task will be to mentor incumbent quarterback Ethan Garbers (1,136 passing yards, 11 touchdowns in 2023) and help him limit mistakes while pushing the ball downfield more frequently.

2024 UCLA Bruins Football Schedule

Once upon a time, the UCLA Bruins were a national power in college football. This basketball school became known as a perennial Pac-12 title contender and top-10 team. From 1965 through 1998, UCLA finished in the national top 20 a total of 20 times.

And that included ten top-10 finishes. Since then, the going has been much tougher.

UCLA does not emphasize football like other national powers. It considers itself an all-sports school. But Oregon and USC are Pac-12 powers that invest more in football. And the results speak for themselves.

UCLA has 17 conference titles and two division championships. They have one national championship (1954). However, UCLA’s last conference championship was in 1998.

Past UCLA coaching greats include Tommy Prothro, Pepper Rodgers, Dick Vermeil, and Terry Donahue.

College Football Hall of Fame Bruins includes Troy Aikman, Gary Beban, Randy Cross, Tom Fears, Billy Kilmer, and Kohn Sciarra. The late great Jackie Robinson, who broke baseball’s color barrier, was a Bruin safety in 1939-40.

2024-2025 College Football Schedule

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